love. LIFE.

Hello Friends!

Over to the left you'll see all of the categories that you can check out.

If you're a photographer make sure to check out the For Photographers page.  I just launched the new Family GTKY kit and the NEW Insight Kits Blogsite!!!  Click here to see the new site!

    LOVE. LIFE. TIPS.  These posts will help anyone who is trying to keep or get back all of the things that they love in their life and/or business. The tips are packed with ways to manage a hectic life, kids, business, meaning, love...and more. Also, make sure you check out the new Women and Business series! (Click here)  Also, see how Day with Davina can come to you. (Click here)

My favorite pricing guide (that I wish I had when I started my business over 8 years ago).  You need this guide!

 

Easy as Pie.  Click here to visit Served Up Fresh. (affiliate link)

Thanks for stopping by...and don't forget to leave a comment...or two...I want to hear from YOU!

And make sure to TELL A FRIEND!

 

Entries from November 1, 2007 - November 30, 2007

Christmas Cards

Posted on Sunday, November 18, 2007 at 11:23PM by Registered CommenterDavina in | Comments3 Comments

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Order Now.

We have some really beautiful custom holiday cards that we are so excited about...and we'll have even more designs in a couple of days!   There are a variety of ways you can customize your unique holiday cards.  Contact the studio to order your cards now.  davina@davinafear.com

Holiday card orders must be placed no later than December 5th.

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The List.

Posted on Friday, November 16, 2007 at 11:55AM by Registered CommenterDavina in , , | Comments4 Comments

 

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The Dinners.

After the first Love. Life. Tips. post a number of people are really excited to try the idea.  I thought I would help you along by posting the list of dinners that we came up with that are the kids favorites.  There might be a couple I've sneakily put on there hoping that they'll pick it and find they love it.  Overall, these are the typical faves of the kids. (And yes, some of them are very fattening but I'm thinking fattening at home is better than fattening at Burger King.)

Dinner.

Chicken Noodle Soup & Biscuits (Mike makes the best soups!)

Chicken Tacos & Mexican Rice

Homemade Mac & Cheese, fish sticks/chicken nuggets, & green beans

Shredded Beef Tacos and chips and salsa

Chicken Caesar Salad and French Bread

Fettuccine Alfredo and Raspberry/Walnut Salad

Hamburgers, hotdogs, corn on the cob, pasta salad, and chips

Chili Dogs and corn on the cob

Frito Boats and salad

Milanesa, potatoes, and salad

French Bread pizzas and chips

Spaghetti & meatballs, corn on the cob, salad, and French bread

Spaghetti, salad, and French bread

Chicken Dumplings and green beans

Stroganoff and salad

Sloppy Joe, salad, and chips

London Broil, salad, and mashed potatoes

Potato Soup and bread

Carrot Soup and bread

Pumpkin Soup in bread bowls

Lasagne, salad, and French bread

Chicken Caesar Pitas

Shredded Beef Nachos

Pot Roast, carrots, and potatoes (we use the left over pot roast for shredded beef tacos during the week)

Breakfast.

Vanilla yogurt and strawberries (my fave!)

Cereal, milk, o.j., and toast

Go-gurt

Pumpkin Bread

Banana muffins

Coffee Cake

Eggs with cheese

Grapefruit with toast

Fresh fruit salad with toast (our faves: strawberries, blueberries, bananas, raspberries, and blackberries)

Blueberry muffins

Fruit and bacon with toast

Bagels with cream cheese and fresh strawberries on top

Jamba juice type of smoothie and toast

Lunch. (we don't have a lot of ideas for lunch...)

Grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup

Turkey, tomato, mayo, and pepper sandwich (my fave!!!) and carrots with baked lays chips

Corn Dogs

PB&J

Cabbage Salad

Veggie Sandwich with avocado, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, and cucumbers

Chicken salad lettuce wrap

Snacks.

Fruit

Go-gurts

Chips and salsa

Strawberries

Breadsticks

Chips and Bean Dip

Rice Crispy Treat

Pudding Pops

Cheese crisp

Carmel popcorn

Popcorn

Toast

Cinnamon Toast

Cheese and crackers

Peanut Butter and Crackers

Peanuts and Almonds

Yogurt pretzels

Jello

Pudding

String Cheese

Veggie Tray

Yogurt Parfait (vanilla yogurt, strawberries, and a tablespoon of granola)

Pickles

Apples and peanut butter

Pineapple chunks

Mandarin Oranges

Cupcakes

Fruit juice popsicle

Fruit smoothie

 

So...as you can see our lists and calendar are nothing special. In fact, they're a total mess.  We usually make a plan for dinners about 10 days in advance.  We'll sit down one day right after school and I'll just ask everyone what they want for dinner next week on their day.  I put it on the calendar.  Then the kids pull it out when they are eating snack and smear peanut butter across it.  Doesn't matter...we have a plan!

Hope this helps you get your own list started and get your dinner time back in a meaningful way!

 

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Johanna. New Associate photographer.

Posted on Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 02:25PM by Registered CommenterDavina | Comments1 Comment

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I am very excited to announce that Johanna has joined Davina Studios! 

She has just come from working for Mi Belle Wedding Studio in California for four years.  I loved her portfolio!  And her personality and style meshes perfectly with the passion, fun and real that we love here at Davina Studios.

Johanna will be our associate photographer; meaning you can book with Davina Studios and get the style and quality that we offer.  I'm so excited that Johanna has joined Davina Studios as a wedding associate.  So often we have brides wanting to book with us... now if I'm booked or if some one is looking for photography similar to my style they can book with Johanna for a really great price. 

As an added bonus if you are one of the first 10 brides to book with Johanna you will get to have Davina as the second shooter at your Utah wedding if Davina is not already booked.  When writing to the studio make sure to indicate in the subject line that you are interested in booking with Johanna.

You won't want to miss this opportunity.  Make sure to book right away since Johanna's calendar is already filling up.  For more information contact the studio at davina@davinafear.com

 

LOVE. LIFE. TIP #1.

Posted on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 04:19PM by Registered CommenterDavina in , , | Comments15 Comments | References1 Reference

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Dinner.  At Home.

For the past couple of years, as embarrassed as I am to admit it, we've been a fast food family.  We always were so busy running around or late getting home for work that it just seemed much easier to grab something at a restaurant and rush to the next thing on the agenda.  I knew it wasn't healthy and so occassionally I would put together a menu and run to the grocery store.  (I was taught very well by my incredible super woman mom how to plan with a menu, make a list,and go shopping.  I know how to cook and used to love to bake.  My dad called me Betty Crocker when I was 10 years old.)  The problem was making the dinners once we got the food home.  I knew I wanted to be having dinner every night together but...there were too many things going on.

I decided that I needed someone that would make me be responsible.  My kids.  If you tell your kids something, especially if you tell them they are going to get to be a part of something fun, they'll never let you forget it.  That can totally be helpful to you.

Instead of making my own menu and slaving over a list and what to have each night I made a list of all of the things our family likes to eat along with some easy to make dinners.  Each night is one person's night for dinner.  They get to pick what we're going to eat and they get to help make it.  They get Mom and/or Dad's time and they get to have their say about what we eat.  Occassionally, they also get to go shopping, too.

So these pictures are from the Emma's night (Tuesdays).  She picked lasagne, salad, and corn.  Mike is the expert lasagne maker so he was the helper that night.  Once they got the lasagne in the oven they got to read together at the table until the timer beeped.  It's become a lot more fun...and we eat at home every night.  We don't even have any of the kids asking to eat out somewhere.  They want to get home and make the dinner they've been looking forward to.  The big benefit is the time we get to spend together and that we're eating a lot healthier.

Adapt this for you:

*If you're single: see if you have a few friends that would like to trade off nights of cooking, make dinner plans for the week and then meet at each other's houses at a set dinner time every night (or just a few nights a week).

*If you're married with no kids: trade nights with another couple  without kids and have dinner together a few nights a week or just take turns between the two of you choosing dinner and making it together.

So much of life is about creating a meaningful life and existence.  How can you make dinner time a way to be a meaningful time of the day and one that you look forward to instead of dread?

healthier. LIFE.

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LOVE. LIFE. TIPS.

Posted on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 03:51PM by Registered CommenterDavina in , , | Comments11 Comments

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It's time...

to get your life back.

 

For the past year the number one goal of my life has been to reclaim my life from my business.  As many entreprenures know, it's easy to become completely submerged in growing a successful business.  You spend a lot of time, work, blood, sweat, and tears making it happen.  One day you realize that you've given up a lot to get where you're at.  Sometimes, you wonder if the opportunity costs may have been too high.  That's the day things change or you can keep going at the rate and speed you've been going.

For me, that was the day things changed.  I knew I didn't want to keep living a life where I seldom saw my kids and when I did I rarely enjoyed my time with them. Mostly, I spent my time fretting about what I should be doing for my clients instead of sitting and reading with my sweet kids.

Since that day I've been making changes and I'm loving the chance to be a mom, a wife, a business owner, and a photographer.  Changes always come at a price and this price has been worth it.

So...I want to share my discoveries with you and hope that these LOVE. LIFE. TIPS. will help you out.  Whether you're a single person looking for more ways to add meaning to your life, a mom with not enough time and too much work, a business owner who is drowning in the responsiblities and stresses of being successful, or just want to be more aware of your life I hope you'll find some help in these posts.

Stay tuned!

be. LOVE.